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Topic: Urgent! What do I do now (Read 3341 times)

My bees swarmed about 30 minutes ago and have situated themselves about 25-30 feet up a huge pine tree. I don't want to loose these girls. If I try to hit them with a rock or something to knock them down they will just fall apart on the huge branches below. It looks like it's going to rain, and I want to save them if I can. Any suggestions?

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Scott----------"If you have no money and you have few possessions, if you have a dog you are still rich"----------"Forgiveness is easier to get than permission"

I just caught a swarm this past week. I put a super with some frames below the hive and then used a tree pruner (long stick extended as far as possible) to sort of gently scrape them down toward the super several times. Some bees landed in the super. I put on the cover and left it. The bees were flying madly all around the tree. Next morning I checked it out and they were there and starting to work already.

I could be wrong but it doesn't seem like a rock will work as it only breaks them up (and makes them mad) but doesn't move them in the direction you'd like them to go.

They landed in my neighbors tree, and I put a hive on his roof. It is about 25 feet away and below the swarm. I added a couple of frames of honey in the empty brood box, and am hoping that they will find it.

If I added some bees from the old hive, would they start to let off scent, and attract the swarm?

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Scott----------"If you have no money and you have few possessions, if you have a dog you are still rich"----------"Forgiveness is easier to get than permission"

Anonymous

A friend and fellow club member who made captureing swarms a hobby to go along with his bee keeping has a number of tools he made and bought.One of the most important tools is a telscoping pole (goes to 20 ft) with a clamp he mounted on the end. He can use that clamp to hold a hook to place a rope over the high branches of trees then use a slip knot in one of his many ropes to hold that limb in place. Another tool is a telscoping pruning saw clipper combo. He either clips or saws the limb off letting it gentile swing downward. Free wheeling pulleys and some with brakes that the rope holding the limb is pasted thru, going to the long pole with the clamp he installs a home made hook to hook the limb and pull it out away from the tree and gentle lower it to a waiting hive body with frames of drawen comb sprayed with honey sittin on a portable table.Some of his other tools are a 8ft. step ladder a 10 foot extention ladder and a 15 ft one. a small folding table and a spray bottle full of honey he keeps warm with a 12 volt lite bulb pluged in to the ciger lighter of his truck. Of course he also has the short pruning clipers for low branches and a short pruning saw. He als keep a frame of drawn comb to clamp on to his pole to intice them to the frame of sprayed comb then shakes it in to a waiting hive body. He has captured 18 swarms so far this year. a 12 volt bee vac is being assembled also.I'm now assembling my own out fit.

Here is an update on my swarm situation. The hive on the neighbors roof has two mostly filled frames of honey. Additionally, I put some lemongrass essential oil on the top bars of some of the frames, on the bottom board, both inside and on the runway. A few bees went into the hive and a few would fly around the area.

I went out a little bit ago, and the swarm seems to be missing from the tall pine tree. Looking with binoculars I can see some bees flying around where it used to be, but no sign of the swarm itself. Could the swarm have left, and these are scout bees left behind? I didin't notice any swarm activity in the air, but it does seem that there are more bees going in and out of the original hive. Could they have come back? I forgot to count the number of bees remaining yesterday when I did my post-swarm inspection, so counting them now would be pointless... Could the swarm have moved to another part of the tree that I can't see? I can't imagine why they would do that after spending the night in light wind and a few sprinkles. What do you all think is going on here?? If they have returned, I am thinking of spliting the hive..it this a good idea?

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Scott----------"If you have no money and you have few possessions, if you have a dog you are still rich"----------"Forgiveness is easier to get than permission"

Well, I just inspected the old hive, and it doesn't look like a huge amount of bees are in there. They have a queen cell in the top brood box. Does this mean they will swarm again? Should I split them and put the queen cell in the new hive? Or is this the new queen for that hive, and just hasn't hached yet?

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Scott----------"If you have no money and you have few possessions, if you have a dog you are still rich"----------"Forgiveness is easier to get than permission"

Usually the old queen leaves with the swarm before the swarm queen cell hatches, so don't destroy it unless you are certain there IS a queen there. Of course if you had a marked queen, you would know if she left with the swarm. :D

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